Non-Indian man sentenced to life in prison for murder and assault on Crow Reservation

A non-Indian man was sentenced to life in federal prison for a double homicide and assault on the Crow Reservation in Montana

Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and three counts of using a gun during crimes of violence. He admitted he shot and killed Jason Shane, 50, and his wife, Tana Shane, 47, on July 29, 2015.

He also admitted to shooting and wounding the couple's daughter, Jorah Shane, who survived the attack, and to shooting at others who tried to assist the family.

"The victims were good Samaritans, trying to help a stranded motorist when their lives ended in a horrible act of violence that also injured their daughter," Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Travis Burrows of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a press release on Thursday, when Mendoza was sentenced.

The crime took place in Pryor, a community near the western border of the reservation.
Mendoza fled to Wyoming, where he was living at the time, after the shooting but was quickly captured by law enforcement.